Orbรกn Meets with Polish Ex-Minister, Highlighting Rift Within Visegrรกd Group
Budapest, October 30, 2025 – Hungarian Prime Minister viktor Orbรกn met with former Polish Minister of Justice Zbigniew Ziobro โin Budapest today, a move signaling continued tensions between Poland โand Hungaryโฃ and casting doubt on the potential for a revived โVisegrรกd Group. The meeting comes amid a โpolitical “witch hunt,” accordingโค to โOrbรกn, launched by the current Polish government against figures โassociated with the previous, right-wing administration.
Orbรกn announced the meetingโค on X (formerly Twitter),stating,”๐ต๐ฑ Justice for Poland! the Polishโ right achieved a tremendous victory โin the presidential โคelection. Since then, the pro-Brusselian Polish government has launched a political witchโข hunt against them.” He included a photo ofโค the meeting with Ziobro.
The current Polishโ Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, responded bluntly to the meeting, stating, “Either in custody or in Budapest.” โ
the encounter underscores a โdeep divide betweenโ the two nations. For Tusk’s government, Ziobro represents the most problematic aspects of the previous Law and Justice (PiS) era. โPolitical scientist Antoni Dudek has described Ziobro as “the most negative figure โฃin Polish politics since 1989.”
analysts suggest that any prospect of restoring the Visegrรกd Group – a political alliance of Poland,Hungary,czech Republic,and Slovakia – isโค unlikely providedโ that Tusk and Orbรกn remain in power. โAttempts to revive the group are seen as disingenuous, serving only the personal interests of those promoting the idea. โค
While a meeting of the four regional prime ministersโฃ could occur should Andrej Babiลก return to power in the Czech Republic, the outcome would likely mirror a previous gathering in Prague earlier in 2024, characterized by disagreement and discord.
Orbรกn,facing declining poll numbers ahead of Hungarian spring elections and seeking a positive international narrative following the recent Trump-Putin summit,is reportedly attempting to leverage the idea of a “V3” – a smaller โalliance of Visegrรกd nations – and garner support from Babiลก. However, current assessments portray the Visegrรกd โขGroup as largely symbolic, utilized by politicians to project an image of regional leadership.